Wednesday, September 29, 2021
What a difference a day makes! Yesterday's blue skies and warm temps were gone and we woke up to a windy overcast day with highs only in the mid-50's. Definitely a jeans and jacket sort of day.
The goal for the day was to explore in Custer State Park, specifically Needles Highway and a couple of other spots that our son had suggested after their recent Black Hills trip.
Going north on route 385 provides a pretty good view of the Crazy Horse Monument. Visiting the monument was on our tentative itinerary but we never made it so I was glad I took some photos as we were driving past. (Something to look forward to on a future visit!) I was using a pretty long zoom, but the highway view isn't too bad even with the naked eye.
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| The large truck parked on the arm gives some perspective on just how huge this sculpture is! |
The jagged line on our navigation screen in the car is a good indication of what it is like to drive in the Black Hills!
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| The map view... |
I contemplated not getting out of the car when Bob pulled over at the first scenic overlook we came to. (Those heated seats were feeling pretty good at that point!) From the road it didn't look like anything special but once we walked down the short path I decided it was well worth braving the cold wind! A nice man noticed me trying to take a selfie of the two of us (a skill I still haven't mastered) and offered to take our photo.
We entered Custer State Park at Sylvan Lake and purchased a park pass. I had gone crazy taking photos of the lake last year with the golden trees reflecting on the lake in the early morning sun. This time the gray skies and rough water made it look like a totally different lake. After a quick loop through the parking lot we were on our way. The cold wind convinced us that hiking the trail around the lake just wasn't a good idea.
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| Sylvan Lake on September 21, 2020 |
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| Sylvan Lake, September 29, 2021 |
We pulled over at the Needles Eye and then proceeded through the tunnel.
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| Needles Eye Tunnel |
When we reached the Cathedral Spires trailhead, I opted to stay at the car and let Bob do the 3-mile round trip hike on his own. Hiking up steep hills on a rocky trail isn't my thing, but it is Bob's. This area, in particular, holds special memories for Bob...he made several trips to rock climb here in his younger days. I kept track of the time and when I suspected he would be close to returning, I hiked a short distance on the trail and met him.
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| Cathedral Spires Trail...or at least the small portion that I experienced. |
On last year's trip we had eaten our lunch sitting on a rock overlooking the view at Cathedral Spires. This year we did the same, but from the inside of our car where it was much warmer!
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| Our lunch time view. |
Within a couple of minutes after leaving the parking lot, I saw something that instantly brought back a memory from many years past. When I was a young girl (so we are talking over 50 years ago!!) my family went on a camping trip to the Black Hills from our home in Illinois. As we were driving through the hills, my dad spotted this gravel road leading up a hill and followed it...just to see where it led. We drove as far as the road allowed. I remember being scared because the road was so steep. He drove as far as he could and then we got out and walked to the top of the hill. There we discovered an abandoned quartz mine! Surrounding the old mine shaft, the ground was covered with pieces of pink quartz and mica. In the sunlight, the mica glistened like diamonds and it was fascinating to pick up a piece and peel back the thin, translucent layers one at a time.
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| Mica is made up of thin translucent layers. Photo credit: mineralseducationcoalition.org/ |
Fast forward to the late 1980's. Bob and I had taken our two sons (the third had not yet been born) on a camping trip to the Black Hills. After all those years I recognized the same gravel road and we re-discovered the old mine once again. I had made little drawstring cloth bags for the boys to use for "rock hunting" and they had the time of their lives picking up pieces of quartz and mica. I'm sure at their age it was like finding precious jewels!
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| #2 son showing off his special treasures. Now this little boy is a daddy with 3 kids of his own! |
So as we were driving and went by a narrow gravel road leading up a hill, a memory from so many years ago came flooding back. I couldn't imagine that the road was really the one leading to the old mine, but Bob was curious enough that he turned around and went back.
There was a barricade across the road that prevented us from driving up the road so we got out and walked. As we made our way up the hill, the view alone would have been reward enough.
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| Even big boys like to pick up rocks! |
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| Even on a cloudy day, the view was spectacular! |
But to our amazement, at the top of the hill there it was...the old mine shaft. Far above at the top of the cliff was the remains of the old mine. And just as we had discovered decades ago, pieces of quartz and mica were still covering the hillside. Truly a déjà vu moment!
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| Bob standing in front of the same mine shaft as our son in the earlier photo. |
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| Old mine works at the top of the cliff. |
We had to share our wonderful discovery with our sons via FaceTime and they too were amazed as they recalled the special memories. Our oldest suggested that we "drop a pin" on Google maps to record the GPS location of the road. I have no doubt that sometime in the future our boys will take their children and tell them stories of visiting the old quartz mine when they were kids.
Our next destination turned out to be a fail. Our son had suggested we drive up to the Mt. Coolidge lookout tower. We knew we probably couldn't climb to the top of the tower, but our son said the view from on top of the mountain was still worthwhile. Unfortunately the road was closed so we moved on to the next suggestion from our son. On the way we got to enjoy some pops of fall color.
We were slightly more successful at our next stop, Badger Hole. This was the home of poet, Badger Clark who lived in the area for over 30 years. The cabin is open to the public during the summer months, but in late September we had to be content to peeking through the windows to get a glimpse of the furnished cabin. The Badger Clark Historic Trail, a one-mile loop, begins next to the cabin. Part of the trail had been developed by Badger Clark himself.
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| Photo Credit: https://sd4history.sd.gov/ |
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I am assuming it must have been recess time when we passed by the Peter Norbeck Outdoor Education Center. 😁
Our last stop of the day was at the Custer State Park Visitor Center. Our timing was good...the movie narrated by Kevin Costner was just beginning as we arrived. The video was well done and covered the highlights and history of the park. After the movie ended we briefly looked at the exhibits and used the restroom.
It was about 3:30 when we left the visitor center and we both agreed we were done for the day. Back at the apartment, we made some dinner and then relaxed on the deck. One last highlight of the day came just after dark as we were sitting outside. Off in the distance we could hear a pack of coyotes howling. Based on what we heard, there must have been a big pack and they were quite excited!
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